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TORONTO–As announced on Baseball Central moments ago, former Buffalo Bisons announcer Ben Wagner has been called up from triple-A to become the new radio voice of the Toronto Blue Jays on the Sportsnet Radio Network.

Award-winning broadcaster Dan Shulman also steps into the radio broadcast booth for a collection of regular season games, while Sportsnet veteran Mike Wilner continues to be a part of the broadcast team and host Blue Jays Talk throughout the 2018 campaign.

After 11 seasons as the voice of the Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate, Wagner makes his Major League debut calling the Blue Jays’ season opener on Thursday, March 29.

“It is a dream come true, and a lot of years in the making,” said Wagner. “To follow in the footsteps of legends like Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth, and to work alongside Mike Wilner and Dan Shulman, I am honoured to have the opportunity to provide the soundtrack of summer to Canadian baseball fans.”

“Ben Wagner has a unique and descriptive way of calling a ball game,” said Dave Cadeau, national format director of sports, Rogers Radio. “He’s an extremely talented broadcaster and I’m looking forward to hearing him across the Sportsnet Radio Network for the next generation. Dan Shulman is simply one of the greatest play-by-play voices in the world, and to have him returning to where his career first started is a thrill for all of us.”

In addition to joining the radio booth, Shulman also anchors Sportsnet’s newest weekly baseball podcast. Debuting on Thursday, April 5, Shulman will host A Swing and a Belt with Dan Shulman. The podcast takes a deeper dive into the world of baseball with players, managers, executives and analysts from around the Majors. Weekly installments of A Swing and a Belt will be available for download through sportsnet.ca, via Apple Podcasts or Google Play. Shulman also returns to the TV broadcast booth this season to call select games alongside Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler.

“I’m very excited to be getting the chance to do a baseball podcast for Sportsnet,” said Shulman. “The title of the podcast comes from some of Tom Cheek’s home run calls, including Joe Carter’s World Series winning homer. We’ll be talking baseball, with a Blue Jay focus, and I’m hoping we can take listeners behind the scenes with the people who make baseball such a great sport, and show them a side of the game they haven’t seen that much of before.”

Working alongside Wagner and Shulman throughout the season will be a rotating roster of analysts. More details will be released in the coming weeks.

2018 Blue Jays Broadcast Schedule on Sportsnet

As the exclusive home of everything Blue Jays, Sportsnet delivers live coverage of the 2018 season on Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet Radio Network and Sportsnet NOW.

The Blue Jays’ 2018 campaign begins on Thursday, March 29 with the Honda Opening Day matchup against division rival New York Yankees at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet 650 and Sportsnet NOW.

See full schedule below.

Key details of the 2018 Blue Jays on Sportsnet include:

Television:
• Blue Jays Central: Making his season debut, studio analyst Joe Siddall joins host Jamie Campbell to lead off Blue Jays broadcasts throughout the 2018 campaign. Campbell, Siddall and guest analysts Cliff Floyd and Kevin Barker kick off the season with a special 90-minute edition of Blue Jays Central starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on March 29

• In the Booth: Supplying the soundtrack to the 2018 season, veteran broadcasters Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler return to the TV booth with the call. Dan Shulman will also contribute to a series of regular season matchups, including the Blue Jays’ season opener

• On the Field: From field-level to the clubhouse, reporters Hazel Mae and Arash Madani keep fans up-to-date with the latest game-day news

Sportsnet Radio Network: Sportsnet 590 The FAN (Toronto), Sportsnet 960 The FAN (Calgary), Sportsnet 650 (Vancouver)*Game Broadcasts on the Sportsnet Radio Network are also available on 21 radio stations across Canada
• In the Radio Booth: Ben Wagner makes his Major League debut, joined by veteran announcer Mike Wilner and with regular contributions from Dan Shulman. A rotating team of analysts will be joining Wagner throughout the season.

• Blue Jays Talk: Host Wilner takes calls from fans and provides post-game analysis following each regular season game

Sportsnet 590 The FAN:
• Baseball Central/Baseball Central at Noon: Hosts Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker keep fans up-to-date with the latest news from the MLB weekdays at 11 a.m. ET. The show moves to the Noon ET timeslot beginning July 2

• Buffalo Bisons: Blue Jays fans can also listen to the future of the franchise with 11 live broadcasts of Bisons regular season games this season. For the full schedule, visit www.bisons.com

• Analyst Jonah Keri returns with a weekly column that offers a fun, intelligent and analytics-based perspective on the Blue Jays and MLB

• With additional coverage from Blair, Wilner, and fan blogger Tao of Stieb, Sportsnet’s roster of baseball writers offer the most versatile, entertaining and comprehensive coverage of the team anywhere in Canada

• Insiders Zwelling and Nicholson-Smith return to host At the Letters, another one of Sportsnet’s weekly baseball podcasts

• Fans won’t miss a moment of the action with Sportsnet.ca’s redesigned and up-to-the-minute MLB Live Tracker

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